The government’s cruel austerity scheme has been devastating for our education services. Schools up and down the country are struggling to cope with cuts, alongside a funding shortfall for Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) services.
It’s often said that the NHS is one of Britain’s best-loved institutions. Anyone who has seen the care it provides for our families and friends would agree with this without a second thought. Yet sometimes, our community comes together to remind us just how much local NHS services mean to them.
It’s often said that the NHS is one of Britain’s best-loved institutions. Anyone who has seen the care it provides for our families and friends would agree with this without a second thought. Yet sometimes, our community comes together to remind us just how much local NHS services mean to them.
Every year around this time, the Government of the day sets out its vision for the year ahead in the Queen’s Speech. It’s a great opportunity for me to stand up in Parliament and respond on behalf of local residents.
Youth unemployment is one of the biggest challenges facing young people today.
What would you do if your ability to help elderly or vulnerable members of your family was suddenly stopped?
What would you do if your ability to help elderly or vulnerable members of your family was suddenly stopped?
Right before our eyes, we are witnessing the development of a serious threat from a small but dangerous minority who use religion wrongly to justify violent extremism and far right extremists that use racism and intolerance to justify hate and violence. This month, the Guardian newspaper made clear the scale of this problem, reporting that following the attack in Woolwich, 1% of the British public now consider themselves supporters of the English Defence League (EDL). If correct, that represents well over a half million supporters of the far-right organisation in England. This figure is staggering, and while much has been made of the EDL’s presence, I do not believe enough has been made of the group’s inevitable trend towards violence. While it is welcome that extremist groups such as Al-Moujahiroun have been proscribed because of their violent tendencies, there needs to be similar focus on the violent motives and tendencies of far right racist groups such as the EDL.
Right before our eyes, we are witnessing the development of a serious threat from a small but dangerous minority who use religion wrongly to justify violent extremism and far right extremists that use racism and intolerance to justify hate and violence. This month, the Guardian newspaper made clear the scale of this problem, reporting that following the attack in Woolwich, 1% of the British public now consider themselves supporters of the English Defence League (EDL). If correct, that represents well over a half million supporters of the far-right organisation in England. This figure is staggering, and while much has been made of the EDL’s presence, I do not believe enough has been made of the group’s inevitable trend towards violence. While it is welcome that extremist groups such as Al-Moujahiroun have been proscribed because of their violent tendencies, there needs to be similar focus on the violent motives and tendencies of far right racist groups such as the EDL.
